The Fire Chief of Anambra Fire Services, Mr. Martin Agbili, has said that 80 shops were affected in the chemical market fire explosion at Onitsha Head Bridge.
This is contained in a statement signed by Agbili on Wednesday in Onitsha.He said that incident took place at the Science and Lab Line of Ogbo Ogwu Market not the entire Ogbo Ogwu Market, Onitsha.”It is really a terrible situation but the fire is under control now. The vibration from the explosions caused the collapse of some market buildings.“A lot of safety measures have been taken to protect the entire market. There are casualties but we can’t ascertain the actual number of death and the injured”, he said.The fire also destroyed goods and properties worth millions of naira.
In a related development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, says the police were yet to be furnished with the casualty rate at the fire explosion in the chemical market in Onitsha.
Ikenga stated this on Tuesday, in Onitsha while reacting to a fire explosion that rocked the chemical market.
According to him, I don’t have the information on the level of casualty and the level of damage.
“But I can confirm to you that there was a fire explosion at the chemical market and our operatives led by DCP Operations, John Ogbodaga is on ground.
“The area has been cordoned off, the fire service was also on ground and the situation is under control,” he said.
It was earlier reported that no fewer than four persons were reportedly confirmed dead and about 20 sustained various degrees of injuries.
On his part, the state Fire Chief, Anambra Fire Service, Mr. Martin Agbili, said that he and other relevant stakeholders were currently on the scene of the incident at the time of filing this report and useful information would be given in due time.
